E-filing? Get I-T refund in a month

If you are paying your taxes on time and filing your returns online, there is good news from the Income-Tax Department. You can get your tax refund within a month of filing returns – if you file it electronically.

In a bid to ensure faster delivery of refunds, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Sudhir Chandra has appealed to taxpayers to adopt to e-filing of returns.

“Filing returns electronically will expedite the refund process further and taxpayers won’t have to wait longer to get their refunds from the department,” Chandra said.

“Once a taxpayer files electronically, it immediately registers on our system and becomes easier for officials to clear refunds,” he said.

The tax department issued Rs.6183 crore in refunds to 8.23 lakh people for the assessment year (AY) 2010-11 between April 1 and 15.

“I have asked my officials to issue all refunds of the AY 2010-11 by April 20, which will be a first-of-its-kind in tax history, and ensure that taxpayer’s grievances are reduced,” he said.

Chandra in a circular issued to all the chief commissioners, commissioners and other officials across the country on March 31 had asked them to ensure to clear all refunds of AY 2010-11 by April 10, with a word of caution — “no laxity or inertia would be tolerated”

The department had issued refunds to the tune of Rs 78,000 crore to 85 lakh taxpayers in FY 2010-11 – 70% more than 50 lakh refunds in FY 2009-10.